The present invention relates to a reversible wrench and more particularly to a feature for reversible wrench having no conventional ratcher wheel.
Known reversible wrenches normally comprise a handle, a coupling member rotatably mounted in one end of the handle having a portion of angular cross section projecting from one side thereof on an axis perpendicular to the handle, and ratchet means for connecting the coupling member to rotate with the handle around said axis, in which said ratchet means generally comprises a spur gear and a pawl having spaced teeth which is mounted by a pin for pivotal movement to provide the selective locking between the pawl and the spur gear. Reversible ratchet wrenches disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,336,728; 4,485,700 and 4,589,307 have constructions similar to the ratchet wrenches discussed above.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,564,954 discloses a socket wrench which comprises a driving square projecting from both opposite sides of the wrench, and only a single pawl. Since the two sides of the wrench are of identical construction, the rotation of the ratchet wheel can be changed from clockwise to counter-clockwise or vise versa, as used by the operator by merely inverting the wrench.
The reversible wrenches prior to the present invention are complicated in construction and assembly, and thus add to the cost of the wrenches. Furthermore, the locking between the ratchet wheel and the pawl is accomplished by maintaining only one or two teeth of the ratchet wheel in engagement with the pawl, which may not have sufficient strength in a high torque application.